Wegovy (Ozempic) and alcohol: can it help curb the urge to drink?
A promising new study suggests semaglutide may help curb alcohol cravings. Let's dig into the details.
Injectable semaglutide, used in drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic, is well-known for its effectiveness in treating conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes.
However, evidence is emerging to suggest that these medications may have more health benefits than initially thought.
In 2024, for instance, the MHRA approved Wegovy as a preventative treatment for heart attack and stroke in patients with obesity. This was in part thanks to a 2023 study that suggested the drug can reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular events by 20%.
And now, a new study has emerged that suggests semaglutide may be effective for curbing alcohol cravings. If further research backs up these new findings, it could be game-changing for people living with alcohol addiction.
But what have the researchers learned, exactly? And what might be going on in the body to cause these effects? Let's dig deeper to find out.
A quick note: in this article, we use the terms 'Ozempic', 'Wegovy' and 'semaglutide' interchangeably. In practice, while Ozempic and Wegovy both contain semaglutide, they are different drugs that are licensed to treat different conditions.
Ozempic is only licensed in the UK for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is licensed for weight loss.
What does the new study say about Ozempic and alcohol?
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina, looked at 48 participants with alcohol use disorder (AUD). This is defined as the inability to stop using alcohol, despite negative effects on the user's health, work or social life.
The researchers wanted to find out whether semaglutide had any effect on alcohol cravings. So, they randomly divided the participants into two groups. The first group took one low weekly dose of semaglutide. The second group took a placebo – a harmless dummy drug with no medical effects.
Over nine weeks of treatment, the participants kept a diary documenting how much they drank and how much they craved alcohol.
The results were striking. While the semaglutide group drank as often as they had previously, they drank 41% less on each of their drinking days. What's more, the semaglutide users reported a 40% reduction in weekly alcohol cravings.
Interestingly, the research team found promising indications that the drug may also help curb cigarette cravings.
Why did the researchers carry out the study?
The new study is the first to assess the effects of semaglutide on harmful drinking – but it's not the only one.
According to NPR, there are five more clinical trials underway that seek to better understand the link between semaglutide and cigarette or alcohol cravings.
This area of study hasn't emerged out of thin air. For quite some time now, researchers and medical professionals have noted semaglutide's apparent effectiveness in curbing addictive behaviours – and not just in regard to food.
'There's really been a large number of clinical and anecdotal reports coming in suggesting that people's drinking [behaviours] are changing and in some instances pretty substantially while taking [Ozempic or Wegovy]', lead researcher Christian Hendershot told NPR.
This notion is borne out by research on rodents. Numerous studies have found that GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide reduce alcohol cravings in alcohol-addicted rats.
Medical professionals aren't the only ones excited – word has reached patients, too. NPR cites the case of a 37-year-old woman who took semaglutide for weight loss but crossed her fingers for another welcome side effect.
As she told NPR's reporter, she had fallen into a cycle of eating and drinking too much during the COVID-19 pandemic. She hoped semaglutide would help her curb both behaviours – and wasn't disappointed.
'Many days I don't drink at all', she reported. 'It's hard to explain why. Alcohol just doesn't sound as appetising or appealing. And my tolerance is lower, too.'
Why might semaglutide help curb cravings?
The University of North Carolina trial yielded impressive results. However, it did little to explain why semaglutide might help curb alcohol cravings.
That hasn't stopped specialists from making some very educated guesses.
As biostatistics expert Dr Stephen Burgess told The Times, 'The likely mechanistic pathway is by dampening brain cues that prompt an individual to crave both food and alcohol.'
In other words, semaglutide doesn't just work on the gut. It also dampens the 'reward centres' of the brain – the parts that tell us to overeat, drink too much or partake in other unhealthy habits.
Dr Lorenzo Leggio, clinical director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, echoed Burgess's comments. 'The mechanism in the brain that regulates overeating overlaps with those responsible for the development and maintenance of addiction, including alcohol disorder', he told NPR.
Is it time to consider using Ozempic for alcoholism?
No. While the new study is promising, it's far too early to recommend semaglutide-based drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy as treatments for alcohol misuse.
As the researchers concluded, 'these findings provide initial evidence that low-dose semaglutide can reduce craving and some drinking outcomes'.
Note the phrase 'initial findings' – as far as research goes, the team at the University of North Carolina has merely dipped its toe in the water.
More – and larger – trials are needed before we can know for sure whether semaglutide is safe and effective when used this way. The recent trial involved 48 participants. Future trials might involve hundreds or even thousands. This would give us much more reliable results.
The researchers recognise this, stating that their work '[justifies] larger clinical trials to evaluate GLP-1RAs for alcohol use disorder'.
With more trials already underway, we're hopeful. Rest assured that we'll keep you in the loop with any developments.
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Sources
1. Lincoff, A.M. et al. (2023) "Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes" New England Journal of Medicine, 389(24) https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2307563
2. Hendershot, C.S. et al. (2025) "Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial" JAMA Psychiatry https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.4789
3. Vallöf, D., Kalafateli A.L. & Jerlhag, E. (2020) "Long-term treatment with a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist reduces ethanol intake in male and female rats" Translational Psychiatry, 10 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-00923-1
4. Aranäs, C. et al. (2024) "The combination of a glucagon-like peptide-1 and amylin receptor agonists reduces alcohol consumption in both male and female rats" Acta Neuropsychiatrica https://doi.org/10.1017/neu.2024.58
This article was reviewed by and approved by Alice Fletcher, Bariatric Dietitian, on 28 February 2025.
